Mean Streets: Yeah man ...just ... :)
Brushing up with Colgate for that confident smile :)
Ever since I shifted here in 1991 with a suitcase and nearly 20 xeroxes of my CV , I had a sense of destiny about Mumbai. It has given me a home, an identity and self worth. There are some places where you feel immediately at home and things work out for you. For me, Maharashtra and Mumbai were just that. Though I was born and brought up in Trivandrum, I have never felt at ease there and still don't. Mumbai however, brought out the best in me.
I have a healthy regard and respect for Maharashtra, is people its cuisine, music, theatre, language and its militant, no- nonsense attitude. It is this fearlessness and the stoic understanding, that you have to do what you have to do, which makes the Maharashtrian different from the rest. I don't think a Maratha would tolerate injustice or insults, without retaliating. There is an emotional honesty, of being true to the moment, that makes them likable, as far as I am concerned. They are invariably straightforward and there is no guile, cunning or back stabbing, which is in their nature. What you see is what you get. Not surprisingly, the marauding Mughals in historical times, had to face unyielding resistance from the Marathas , even when surprisingly, most of the Northern Indian plains buckled down before them, with very little resistance to speak of.
Mumbai is therefore one place were they use violence were it is required and no apologies !! A season in the suburban trains teach you a lot about this tough life style. A tight slap has a way of putting things in perspective and finalizes disputes, arguments and is almost used like a full stop after a sentence. I have seen people use it without flinching and it hardly raises eyebrows. Civic sense therefore is high here. Eve teasers routinely get slapped or given the treatment by the ladies themselves or passers by.Sadly though, this fearlessness and tough practicality seems to have become a rarity if one were to go by newspaper reports. Organised crime is also a feature of Mumbai and its methods have been a staple of the Hindi film industry. There is however no evidence of it visible to the common man, especially a white collar executive like me. This trend however seems to be changing for the worse. The middle class seems to be bearing the brunt of a crime wave largely to do with economic reasons. This is if one goes by media reports.
Mumbai is the most permissive city in India. Women enjoy more freedom here than anywhere else in India. Women are used to working late and use suburban trains and taxis without fear. The ubiquitous Mumbai taxi was disciplined, helpful and rarely a cheat. In fact working women were plenty in Mumbai and quite bold.
As a young executive in the early 90's, I learned to understand and work out an equation with the army who carried the tag of "personal secretary" in offices. In wrap around skirts/frocks and invariably Goan Catholic, or from Mangalore, they controlled access to the big bosses in most offices. Mario caricatured them in his cartoons. Sometimes I thought that he was bang on!! Some of them became very good friends and people I developed a lot of regard for. Flora was my boss's secy and also the group secretary. She was a great help and a lovely person. Bernie was another secy who everyone thought was cute and I thought was extremely efficient and competent. Dora, Afra are two more names that came to mind. Excellent and committed. Most successful managers learn to retain good secretarial help. Crucial, since they also need to be trustworthy and can enhance your effectiveness dramatically. I realized how important it was, when I went to the Middle East. (Good secretarial help in UAE is a premium/luxury and is often in the form of a Malayali male! )
Thanks to my Goan colleagues, I took to Latin American dancing which I learned at J.J.Rodrigues, who himself was a "personal secretary" initially before he took up dancing full time. I did end up at the Catholic gymkhana on Christmas and saw an awesome display of ballroom dancing there. Never knew that Mumbai had such abundance of ball room and latin american dancing talent.
Ballroom dancing also opened up friendships with many unique people and Sonali was one such. She was metropolitan in every sense with a Muslim father and Hindu mother. A divorcee, she runs her own interior decor consultancy and to me is a great example of the modern day woman. Positive, easy going, well read and sophisticated without being snooty and with a great sense of values. Good looking too, with hiking as her hobby. The hills near Mumbai offer hiking enthuthiasts like her a variety of options to spend their weekends.
Mumbai provides support and security to Sonali and similar single women. Probably unthinkable in other parts of the country. They work and party hard without being labeled as loose and immoral. I personally believe it is because Mumbai had a liberal attitude.
Prithvi , NCPA are weekend haunts were there is a vibrant theatre culture. From Vijay Tendulkar's "Sakharam Binder" a play that I read and loved (though in English) to VS Khandekar's "Yayati" to Bharat Dhabolkars vaudeville 'Bottoms Up' to the sublime 'Tumahri Amritha','Vagina Monolgues', 'Dear Liar', I saw them all in Mumbai.
Siddhi Vinayak temple at Prabhadevi, has replaced the Pazhavangadi temples of Trivandrum.
Ganesha is everyone's favourite God and their are many who collect Ganesha's. Rendering Ganesha in abstract form in various media is an art form in itself!! To understand the intensity and depth of this devotion one has to drive by the Sidhivinayak temple on any Tuesday morning! Queues that wind from the temple to Dadar which is 2.5 kms long is what you see!!! People wait from 3 in the morning for hours in this serpentine queue ,to get a darshan of the lord!!
Another feature of Mumbai used to be the mujra girls. These are dancers who entertain people in bars by performing Bollywood dance steps .Topaz which featured the best dancers was famous even among businessmen from the Middle East!While the mujra girls have been put temprarily out of business, the lavni and the koli song and dance are visible in some function or the other and it certainly is appealing.
Madhuri Dixit is an example of a marathi mulgi and among all the Hindi stars was the only actress after Madhubala I had a crush on. Sonali Bendre and Tabu were also in the race but nothing to beat this Marathi lady!!
Shobha De was one writer whom I loved to read because she had a caustic sense of humour and was very spicy. In her earlier days, she could also make heads turn and one such head was mine!! Vijay Tendulkar's plays like 'Sakharam Binder' and 'Ghasiram Kotwal' intrigued me and V.S. Khandekar's 'Yayati' was another thought provoking piece of literature.
Lots of little ways in which people of this land has made my life richer come to mind. Cricket, which is my favourite game would never the same without Tendulkar. While I did play the game with passion, the motivation to watch a match came from the little Mumbaikar.
During my bachelor days when home food was rare, I was treated by Sanju and Raju Hinge to delicious Marathi cuisine which were mouth watering. Rice and chappatis formed part of the three course meal and I simply relished it. Street food is also great and pav bhaji immediately comes to mind. Sardars in Nana chowk was a great place for pavbhajis. Kebabs were a speciality at BadeMiya's in Colaba . Leopold and Mondegar, about whom Robertson(if my memory is right) has written in "Shantharam", were popular haunts for beer and biriyani. Mahesh Lunch Home prided itself and rightly so on its seafood and at Haji Ali the juice centre gave you the best fruit juice!Delhi Durbar had its delectable rotis and butter chicken and Kobes had its sizzlers!! Ah weekends were more busy for a bachelor like me in the nineties and for a boy from trivandrum, it was overwhelming, the sheer freedom and the variety of things to do!!
Mumbai has its rituals and I too have it now on my calendar. Ganesh Chaturthi and the poojas followed by immersion is something you do with your neighbours. Dandiya Raas is also big in Mumbai with its strong Gujju community. It is a carnival with girls and boys dressed in their best and music makes everyone sway to it. Phalguni Pathak is a rage and the androgynous singer is good. 'Pari hoon mein' is an anthem during garba. I was familiar with this thanks to my stint in Anand and the dancing is delightful!!
Govinda and gokuasthami is another Mumbaiyah feature with butter pots kept at high altitudes and prozes for teams who can reach it. This has taken a shape and style that is uniquely mumbaiyah. Holi too happens here and the Punjabis make it an event to remember with ganja spiced bhang making everyone debauched.
My boss in Leo Burnett Mumbai was a certain Anand Tendolkar. A Maharashtrian from the old world. A thorough gentleman and one person I enjoyed working with. I would rate him as one of my favourite bosses. He is running a reiki and personnel development centre. In advertising he was a rarity. A person with a sense of ethics and heart. Not surprisingly, he had a heart attack while at O&M Mumbai. Well, you have to have a heart to get an attack. Anand introduced me and our team to the best restaurants and the oldest gymkhanas in Mumbai. Mostly South Mumbai, based since he was from Peddar Road. I believe he is doing well with a personal growth and counselling centre and is doing corporate training programs.Anand represented the Mumbai that I loved. No nonsense, supportive of all positive initiatives and non interfering. There was an old world charm mixed with an acceptance of the modern. An interest in getting on with it.
My
As they say, Jai Maharasthra and Mumbai Salaam. It is now my home and its my 10th Diwali since I moved into my own flat here in Mahindra Park.
1)Alibaug (first from the bottom) 2)Arnala 3)Janjira 4) Lohgad
Fast cars... faster communication... visuals that communicate the brand benefit at the speed of light :)
The last one is my favourite. I found this bunch of pictures fascinating because it has the ability to shock you a little and then forces you to go back the path of perception and understand how we fill up things for ourselves depending on what we are conditioned to expect. There is also a synergy when we transpose images and the gestalt of it is fascinating. The pencil could have been a wonderful logo for a media entity having a global footprint. The tree and the root a visual for an agricultural product, pesticide free agriculture etc. I don't know the author/painters or else I would have given credit. This was fwded by a friend
Its expected to be part of your skill set, knotting a tie. No formal meeting attire is complete without a tie. A tuxedo needs a bow tie. A cravat adds a touch of class to what could be casual attire. It is seen as a sign of a gentleman. For a lot of my management students who did not have time to attend a finishing school.
A lot of my students have asked me about etiquette and rules about conduct in corporate functions. This is one installment on grooming. Emily Post has written a book on etiquette which is a good read but the best bet is observation... and to be sensitive.
